You’ll hear a lot of talk about the One Room Challenge™ {ORC} around here. Here is a look back at all nine of my past ORC projects, and at the bottom of this page you’ll find answers to all of your questions about what the ORC is all about.
Menswear Themed Boy's Bedroom
I participated in my very first One Room Challenge back in the spring of 2014. Baby #2 had recently entered our lives, and needed the nursery, so I designed a menswear themed boy's bedroom for my older son, who was 2.5 at the time. Since that time, the boys now share a different room (also an ORC project below), and we recently made some minor updates to turn this room from a toddler room to a playroom / hangout room.
Master Bedroom Makeover Without Replacing the Furniture
The next ORC round, in the fall of 2014, I turned my attention to our master bedroom, which had been largely neglected in the six years since we'd move into our home. I made a big impact in this space without replacing any of the furniture, or even changing the placement of the furniture in the room.
Rock 'n' Roll Playroom Under the Stairs
In the spring of 2015, I converted the storage space under our basement stairs into a rock 'n' roll inspired playroom for my boys. At only 3 foot by 12 foot, it's one of the smallest spaces I transformed, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in style and fun! This is still one of my very favorite projects to date, and it was featured in print in 5280 Home magazine!
A Laundry Closet That Functions Like a Laundry Room
In the fall of 2015, I finally achieved my goal of making our laundry closet feel and function more like a laundry room by adding tons of style and storage, including removable wallpaper and, a hanging light fixture, and bold cabinets.
Modern Master Bathroom Makeover
The following spring, in 2016, I updated our master bathroom to match the "graphic glam" style of the adjoining bedroom. The wall of graphic black and white cement tile and statement light fixtures are the stars of the show. I was thrilled with what a huge transformation we created in this space without replacing any of the existing cabinets or fixtures.
Garage Organization with Style
Later that fall, I tackled the much dreaded garage! I was hoping to just create a more functional storage space, but in the process of cleaning and organizing, thanks to some creative DIYs, I also managed to make the garage pretty! I was incredibly honored to have our garage makeover featured on a two-page spread in the March 2018 issue of Better Homes & Gardens magazine!
A Small Shared Boys' Room with Bunk Beds
In the spring of 2017, my boys (then 3 and 5) were begging for bunkbeds, so we turned the former nursery into a shared boys room, complete with lots of color and tons of storage for books and toys.
Modern Kitchen Dining Area
In the fall of 2018, I took on a modern dining room makeover. We added more storage, finally found a solution to an awkward wall, and made a big statement on the kitchen island. And we did it all on a budget.
Colorful Rooftop Retreat
In the spring of 2019, we turned our unused deck off of our master bedroom into a colorful and comfortable rooftop retreat for the whole family to enjoy. This deck is perfect for lounging and enjoying the summer weather, and when the sun goes down, it quickly transforms into an outdoor movie theater.
Ultimate Game Room
In the spring of 2021, we turned our basement family room into the ultimate game room, complete with a custom-built game table, comfy banquette seating, and tons of hidden storage for all of our games and puzzles. On the other end of the basement, our home theater includes a stylish popcorn and candy bar.
Bright Basement Bathroom
In the fall of 2021, we took our orange basement bathroom from bold but boring to a bright and stylish space. The playful artwork reflects our family's love of the theater.
WHAT IS THE ONE ROOM CHALLENGE™?
The ORC is an awesome, twice annual blogging event.
Each spring and fall, a large group of design bloggers come together to each completely makeover one room in a short five weeks (in 2021, this has been increased to seven weeks because of ongoing supply and shipping delays).
THE PROCESS. Throughout the five weeks, each participant posts a weekly progress update that providing insights into the design process. Typically, in the first week the posts include before photos of the space and rough design plans. Then, in subsequent weeks, each participant shares progress photos and talks about the week’s accomplishments and challenges.
THE REVEAL. At the conclusion of the ORC, each participant posts a reveal of their completed space with lots of beautiful photos, as well as a source list.
THE PARTICIPANTS. Each ORC round, there are twenty amazingly talented designers who headline the event, posting their updates every Wednesday. Participation in the ORC is also open to other design bloggers, referred to as Guest Participants, who post their progress updates each Thursday. The ORC gets bigger and more exciting every round, often with more than 200 participants!
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG. All of the participating bloggers share the links to their weekly progress posts on the ORC site, allowing us to follow along with one another, cheering each other on and drawing inspiration, and giving readers access all of the ORC progress updates and final reveals in one convenient place!
IS THERE A WINNER? Also, to dispel some common confusion, there is no “winner” to the challenge, as the name might imply. Rather, the ORC is about starting and FINISHING an entire space in a limited amount of time, but also doing it WELL!
For me personally, the ORC is also about challenging myself to take on unique projects, make bold choices, and inspire readers to be creative in their own homes.